Clark sees growth from Senior Executive MBA

13/01/2017

An opportunity to pursue further education after many years running his own successful business saw Clark McKeon look to Melbourne Business School to pursue a Senior Executive MBA.

For Clark, who graduated in 2015, the decision to pursue the Senior Executive MBA came from an interest to experience other perspectives of business and interact with others of a similar professional maturity.

Prior to embarking on the MBA, Clark was Chief Executive Officer of Ultimate Medical Holdings, a medical devices company ran on behalf of three shareholders. The business was the subject of an acquisition by a large NYSE listed entity in 2013.

“I was really interested to see how other people thought and explore what we had done right and wrong in our own business,” Clark said.

“In that light I wanted to be in a room with people that had genuine professional experience across a range of sectors.

“I was also “ready to learn” 15 odd years after completing my undergraduate degree.”

Melbourne Business School’s Senior Executive MBA program (SEMBA) specifically addresses the challenges of studying for experienced executives. It comprises 10 x 9-day residential modules over an 18-month period, but requires only five weeks away from work in each of two calendar years.

Clark said when he made the decision to undertake an MBA he wanted it to “carry weight externally”.
“I had no doubt that MBS was the most highly regarded business school in Australia and I still hold that opinion today,” Clark said.

Clark said the highlights of the SEMBA were the quality of the teaching staff - both at the School and on the international modules where they travelled to the United States and Germany - and the camaraderie of the group.

He said the syndicate work he undertook as part of the course stretched him in terms of personal growth as well as business education.

“The syndicate work that you undertake meant that you had to work long hours, under pressure, with a range of different personalities,” he said.

“The good thing about the SEMBA was that there was a level of maturity in the room which enabled this work to be stimulating and thought provoking. You could have robust discussions in a respectful way and always with the common goal in mind.”

Clark is involved with several projects, including director and shareholder of the Happy Apple Group Pty Ltd, which operates a greengrocer and supermarket in Melbourne’s Ascot Vale and a director of Inspector Hawkeye Pty Ltd, a company that undertakes pre-purchase property and pest inspections.

He is also still involved in the medical device technology industry as a director of Intervention Technology Pty Ltd.

“It’s a business that is using some of our legacy medical device technology to operate LED related technologies. It is very early days for this venture but it’s one I am very excited about.”

Clark said his time at MBS has given him a lot more confidence and the tools to attack and analyse problems and projects.

“I have met some great people who are now good friends, expanded my professional network and have better tools with which to approach business going forward.”